Up high with artist Owen Dippie and his 6-story Basquiat mural on the Bowery

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy 

It's hard to concentrate on taking photos while rising several stories above the Bowery in a construction lift. 

A swooping, rocking sensation comes as we climb; the wind picks up, and the people and traffic below get smaller and smaller. I have a mild fear of heights, so whenever an EVG assignment puts me in a lift, hanging from a harness or climbing ladders and parapets, there’s inevitably a little clenching involved. 

This time, though, the view is worth it. We’re alongside artist Owen Dippie as he works on his six-story portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat at the corner of Great Jones Street and the Bowery — just steps from 57 Great Jones St., where Basquiat lived and worked during the final years of his life. (Dippie started the painting several weeks ago, as we first reported.)

Up in the lift with New Zealand-based street artist Owen Dippie, working on his 6-story Basquiat mural at the corner of Bowery and Great Jones https://t.co/d2lz6E8Zw1

— Stacie Joy (@Joy_of_photos) October 7, 2026

As Dippie works with spray paint high above the street, people stop below to watch. "Looks amazing!" gets shouted up more than once.

The New Zealand-based artist conceived the mural as a self-funded tribute to Basquiat, whose work has influenced him since long before his first visit to New York in 2006. Dippie says that trip included a pilgrimage to 57 Great Jones St. — something he has repeated on every visit to the city since. 

Back on solid ground, we talked with Dippie about how the project came together, choosing the image that now towers over the Bowery, Basquiat’s legacy, and the people who have stopped to share their memories of him. 

We also asked whether Angelina Jolie, whose Atelier Jolie occupies Basquiat’s former home and studio, has weighed in — and why this mural may mark a turning point for Dippie himself.

How did this project come together and how did you secure the location (and the supplies) for this mural? 

Since my first visit to New York in 2006, one of the first places I went to was 57 Great Jones St. I have since painted this city for two decades, and every visit starts the same way — with a quiet pilgrimage to Great Jones Street to pay my respects to an artist who unknowingly shaped my path. 

In late 2024, I found myself outside number 57 again. I began to imagine something incredible: painting Jean-Michel larger than life on the 6-story wall at the corner of Great Jones and Bowery, right next to his former residence. 

Two days later, I was in discussion with the building's occupants, Par Excellence. They believed in my vision but understood the scale and significance of what I was proposing. What followed was a long journey, countless emails, proposals, permits and navigating the complexities of city approvals and building preservation. 

What image of Basquiat did you work from, and why did you choose that particular one? 

I chose a photograph by Gianfranco Gorgoni taken in 1982, when Jean-Michel was 22. I grew up with a book with a similar image on the cover, which Gorgoni shot, that holds a sentimental place in my heart. 

I reached out to his estate, now run by his daughter Maya and her partner Christopher; they were in full support of the project. It was very special to explore Gorgoni's archives and have their trust.

How do you translate a face onto a wall this large and still make it feel human rather than monumental? 

I try to look beyond just translating an image; I take it very personally. I try to create something you really feel on an emotional level. All the details in the world cannot hide a piece that has no soul.

What has been the most difficult part of painting this particular mural? 

Every piece has its difficulties both technically and artistically, but I'd say artistically [for this one] because Jean-Michel means so much to me; I have to do him justice.

What kind of reaction have you gotten from people passing by while you’ve been working? Any comments or encounters that stuck with you? 

I have enjoyed listening to many stories from people who knew Jean-Michel personally. Friends, art dealers, ex-girlfriends, people who still live in the neighborhood. He impacted so many people in his brief time on this earth.

Basquiat and the downtown art scene have been commercialized and mythologized extensively since his death. Did that affect your work? 

I have always romanticized the New York 1980s, such a free time of pure energy and creativity. The many artists and movements that came from that period are a testament to that. 

Have you heard from Angelina Jolie or anyone on her team? 

I have seen her pull up a few times at number 57 while here, but I didn't want to be "that guy." I’m sure she gets harassed enough — lol! 

I would like to have a conversation with her, though, as I respect that she has kept Jean-Michel's former studio a place of creativity. 

You mentioned this being a self-funded project. How can people help support your work, and this piece in particular? 

Yes, this project is entirely self-funded; that does seem pretty wild… but nobody has commissioned this. I just really wanted to do it... the fact that commercialism is not attached to this project makes it feel pure, something just for him. 

To honor his memory, say thank you, and continue spreading his spirit.

-----

If you are interested in helping cover the costs of this project, visit Dippie's online shop here. You can follow him on Instagram here.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy

An in-progress look today at the nearly six-story-tall mural of Jean-Michel Basquiat on the SW corner of the Bowery at Great Jones.

The artist is the New Zealand-based Owen Dippie. 

At the time of his death in 1988, Basquiat lived two buildings to the west at 57 Great Jones St.

A 6-story Basquiat mural is taking shape on the Bowery

A nearly six-floor-tall mural of Jean-Michel Basquiat is in the works on the SW corner of the Bowery at Great Jones. 

This work-in-progress is still in the outline phase. On the lift: Owen Dippie, a New Zealand-based street artist. 

At the time of his death in 1988, Basquiat lived two buildings to the west at 57 Great Jones St.

Monday's parting shot

A temporary and very colorful commemorative plaque for Jean-Michel Basquiat outside 57 Great Jones St. between the Bowery and Lafayette. Art by @modomatic. 

The original bronze plaque was ripped off a few weeks back. 

P.S.

If you're on Instagram, you can follow @the_daily_basquiat for more frequent art updates here.

Friday's parting Instagram post

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GREATBOXERS (@greatboxers)

The plaque was stolen several days ago. Details here.

Someone swiped the Basquiat plaque on Great Jones Street

Top photo from the EVG archives 

The 10-year-old commemorative plaque honoring Jean-Michel Basquiat outside his former home on Great Jones Street has disappeared — apparently stolen from the building's facade. 

The photo below is from Saturday morning...

The plaque was first noticed missing on Tuesday... (the newly-installed plastic drawing plaque by @modomatter was always snatched). 

The Greenwich Village Society of Historical Preservation (now Village Preservation), in partnership with Two Boots Pizza, placed the marker here in July 2016. Andrew Berman, executive director of Village Preservation, confirmed the loss at the two-level building between the Bowery and Lafayette. Public records list Mond Design Associates as the owners. (Angelina Jolie's Atelier Jolie is the retail tenant.) 

"We have been in touch with the owner about it. It does appear it was stolen — another in an ongoing rash of stolen bronze plaques in our neighborhood," said Berman. 

The plaque has attracted attention in the past, such as in 2023 and 2024, when someone rolled over the whole building with pink paint. 

Berman said they are considering replacement options and new materials that are less attractive to thieves. 

"We've begun using terra cotta plaques — which look as nice if not better than the bronze ones — which have little or no appeal to thieves due to the lack of any resale value. So far, they have all remained untouched. We are discussing replacement possibilities with the owner," Berman said. "These are not cheap. We are raising funds to be able to replace these and other stolen plaques in the neighborhood, as well as to do all our other work." 

The building's façade has served as an impromptu memorial to Basquiat over the years. The artist lived and worked there from 1983 until his death in 1988 at age 27.

Read more about the building's history at Village Preservation.

Great Jones Street co-named in honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat

Photos by Stacie Joy

Local elected officials, members of the Basquiat family, and community representatives gathered yesterday afternoon to unveil "Jean-Michel Basquiat Way" on the stretch of Great Jones Street between the Bowery and Lafayette. 

The ceremony took place on the steps of 57 Great Jones St., where the artist lived and worked from 1983 until his death in 1988 at age 27. 

The artist's sisters, Jeanine Heriveaux (above and below on the left) and Lisane Basquiat, were present at the ceremony and stood alongside Council Member Erik Bottcher, chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries.

"To have New York honor Jean-Michel in this way is deeply meaningful to our family," the siblings said in a statement. "Jean-Michel's is a New York Story. We are thrilled to witness this epic moment of acknowledgment and honor from the city that helped shape him."

Also in attendance, Assembly Member Deborah Glick ...

... and former City Council District 2 member Carlina Rivera, who championed the co-naming while she was in office...

And now just a block to the north of Joey Ramone Place...

No. 57 is currently home to Atelier Jolie, where the exterior continues to attract all kinds of street art...

'Samo Lives' in Tompkins today

Photo by Derek Berg 

"Samo Lives" returned to Tompkins Square Park today... with Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the lead role as Jean-Michel Basquiat and an unidentified actor playing Andy Warhol. 

Read our previous post for more on this project.

‘Jean-Michel Basquiat Way’ to be unveiled on Great Jones Street

Tomorrow (Tuesday), city officials, members of the Basquiat family and community representatives will gather to unveil "Jean-Michel Basquiat Way," the stretch of Great Jones Street between the Bowery and Lafayette. 

Basquiat lived and worked at 57 Great Jones St. from 1983 until his death in 1988. Officials say the co-naming recognizes his lasting influence on New York City's art and cultural landscape.

The ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will include a presentation of a proclamation honoring the artist to Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux, his sisters. 

No. 57 is now home to Atelier Jolie.

Basquiat biopic 'Samo Lives' returns to film in Tompkins Square Park

Crews are expected to be back in Tompkins Square Park today to film scenes for "Samo Lives," the Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic written, directed and produced by Julius Onah. (Not sure if they will film in this wind and rain today.)

Filming began here on Sept. 15 with sightings in Tompkins Square Park of Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the title role alongside an actor playing Andy Warhol.

As we first reported, actor Danny Ramirez plays Al Diaz, an East Village native and "SAMO©" collaborator. However, despite a few conversations with Onah, the real-life Diaz has no formal role in the project, which will also tell part of his history.  

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• About 'Samo Lives,' the Basquiat biopic now filming in the East Village 

• 'Samo' story: Real-life Al Diaz shut out of new Basquiat biopic

'Samo' story: Real-life Al Diaz shut out of new Basquiat biopic

Photos and reporting by Daniel Efram 

Yesterday, filming began for the new Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic, with sightings in Tompkins Square Park of Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the title role alongside an actor playing Andy Warhol. 

Meanwhile, Brooklyn resident Al Diaz was back in his old East Village stomping grounds. This time, he was walking back from a visit to the set of "Samo Lives," written, directed, and produced by Julius Onah. 

As many in the neighborhood know, Diaz grew up in the Jacob Riis Houses on Avenue D and collaborated with Basquiat on a series of cryptic messages around the city signed "SAMO©." 

Given that history, it might seem natural for Diaz to have some consulting role on the project. 

As Diaz tells it, he only learned of the film when Onah, whose credits include "Captain America: Brave New World" and" Luce," posted on social media about the project. 

"He had more than a working title," Diaz recounts. "He was fixated with that ['Samo Lives'] title. So it was that, the use of "Samo" that alerted me, that made me reach out."

Both Diaz and Onah eventually met up twice. In the second meeting, Onah brought along the actor Danny Ramirez, who plays the Diaz character in this film. 

"I told him what my concerns were, which was really that the story [Diaz's] be told responsibly. And I'm here, I'm alive… you have to tell the story correctly.

"I never signed a release," he said.

Diaz continued: 

I don't like that [the use of Samo in this way] because if you're talking about "Samo Lives," you're talking about me as well. You're not going to isolate Jean-Michel. It's just disrespectful.

This is part of what I've been doing for the last 20 years, trying to clarify that story, and you're not going to go ahead and uck that up, and put me back where I started from.

Ramirez contacted Diaz a few months later and wanted to shadow Diaz for a day to get his vibe. But once payment was mentioned, nothing became of it.

In his conversations with Diaz, Onah spoke of his deep respect for the story. Still, it's hard to square that with using the "Samo" name while leaving Diaz out of the process in any formal way.

For now, Diaz, who was featured in Sara Driver's acclaimed 2017 documentary, "Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat," continues his push to make sure his history isn't erased.

For now, filming will carry on around NYC in the weeks ahead with "Samo," but not Diaz.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• About 'Samo Lives,' the Basquiat biopic now filming in the East Village 

• The EVG podcast: Al Diaz on BOMB1, SAMO© and Basquiat

About 'Samo Lives,' the Basquiat biopic now filming in the East Village

Filming notices for today are up around parts of the neighborhood for "Samo Lives," with crews expected in and around Tompkins Square Park and Avenue D. 

This is the first day of filming for the production, a biopic that "will celebrate the life, career and impact of the groundbreaking New York-born, Haitian-Puerto Rican American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose seminal paintings and street art defined the Neo-expressionism arts movement of the 1980s."

"Cyrano" star Kelvin Harrison Jr. has the lead in the film written, directed and produced by Julius Onah. Harrison worked with Onah in the underrated 2019 social thriller "Luce." Onah also directed this year's "Captain America: Brave New World." 

Expect this to be the first of many shoots around here, as Basquiat lived in the East Village for several years. Basquiat died in 1988 while living and working at 57 Great Jones, just west of the Bowery. He was 27.

Al Diaz, who grew up in the Jacob Riis Houses on Avenue D, started writing graffiti at age 12. As a teen in the late 1970s, he and Basquiat collaborated on a series of cryptic messages seen around the city signed from SAMO©.

In 1981, Basquiat teamed up with writer Glenn O'Brien and photographer Edo Bertoglio to shoot a scrappy film about bohemian life in Lower Manhattan. The project, with Basquiat playing himself, languished unfinished for years, until it finally surfaced in 2000 as "Downtown 81."

Tuesday's parting shots

A late-afternoon photo of 57 Great Jones St. just west of the Bowery... where Basquiat died on this day in 1988. 

Current tenant: Atelier Jolie. 

Also late this afternoon, Basquiat's onetime collaborator Al Diaz left a new SAMO© message here...

Noted

As seen on the NW corner of First Avenue and Sixth Street this afternoon: 

Basquiat — he didn't die — he got licensed. 

Jean-Michel Basquiat died on this day in 1988 while living and working at 57 Great Jones just west of the Bowery.

Monday's opening shots

Photos by Lola Sáenz 

The latest in the occasional and ongoing witless pink-out at 57 Great Jones St., including painting over the commemorative plaque for one-time resident Jean-Michel Basquiat...

Local students help create a tribute to Basquiat at the 12C Outdoor Gallery

Photos by @galinskynow 

The 12C Outdoor Gallery has been coming back to life with the help of some local students.

Earlier this month, several artists, parents, and grammar school students went to work on a new mural on the corner of 12th Street and Avenue C. 

The piece is titled: "With Love from the LES to the Caribbean: In Memory of Jean-Michel Basquiat."

... and the final product...

The mural is a collaboration led by artists Savannah Zambrano and Andrea Amanda with students at P.S. 188 The Island School ... with the support of Loisaida Inc., Galinsky Coaching, Thrive Collective, Curated Concepts LLC, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

In early March, Brooklyn-based artist Danielle Mastrion finished the first mural outside the renovated building, paying tribute to Puerto Rican freedom fighter and spiritual luminary Pedro Albizu Campos. (Campos Plaza is directly across 12th Street.)

The 12C Outdoor Art Gallery previously featured a rotating batch of murals curated by Robert Galinsky. One constant throughout the years was the Gil Scott-Heron tribute that Chico created after the jazz poet, musician, and author died in 2011. 

Another pink-out at 57 Great Jones St.

Photos by Lola Sáenz 

Once again, someone slapped the exterior of 57 Great Jones St. with pink paint and once again rolled out the commemorative plaque for one-time resident Jean-Michel Basquiat...

This happened late last summer here between the Bowery and Lafayette. (We've been told the person who did this is obsessed with Basquiat, who lived and worked in the building once owned by Andy Warhol from 1983 to his death in 1988.)

Angelina Jolie opened Atelier Jolie here late last year... the space includes a cafe operated by Eat Offbeat featuring food "from around the world made by refugee chefs in NYC." (Try the baklava!)

Buffing out the Basquiat plaque on Great Jones

As previously reported, someone rollered over the two-level space at 57 Great Jones St. with pink paint, even defacing the memorial plaque for onetime tenant Jean-Michel Basquiat, who lived and worked here from 1983 to the time of his death in 1988. 

The incident motivated EVG regular Lola Sáenz to clean up the plaque. She made some progress, though she realized it would need to be professionally buffed out. 

Today, photographer-artist Adrian Wilson (via @plannedalism) was able to restore the plaque and make it legible once more here between the Bowery and Lafayette... 

Earlier this summer, Angelina Jolie announced a new venture, Atelier Jolie — "a creative collective for self-expression" — opening in November inside the space. 

Vogue dropped a feature on Jolie and her new project earlier today.